30% tax breaks for expats 'just wouldn’t work': Eddie Hobbs
Luring expats home with tax savings is as "aerodynamic as a brick", according to well-known financial advisor Eddie Hobbs.
Eddie Hobbs said the Budget plan to encourage emigrates to return "won't fly" with the public.
Under the deal, skilled graduates and entrepreneurs living abroad could be offered a special 30% tax rate for five years, even if they earn more than €75,000 a year.
However, Eddie Hobbs said the plan would not go down well with those who had stayed.
"It has all the aerodynamics of a flying brick. It works fine on paper; it just doesn’t work politically," he said.
"You can’t have a situation where people who have sweated blood and tears and have remained in Ireland are subsidising a neighbour for five years.
"It would be very socially divisive, for starters. It just wouldn’t work."
